Speaking on BBC One’s Andrew Marr show yesterday, Mr Cameron said: “I don’t regret it. Britain is a more equal and fairer country for having done it.

“It’s certainly true to say that this is an important change. I don’t think I expected quite the furore that there was.

“It’s clearly been very difficult for some people to take on, and I completely understand and respect that.

“I’m not sure perhaps at the beginning we got across to people that this was about marriages that could take place in register offices, that this was not going to change what happened in church, mosques or synagogues.”

He continued: “I am passionate about marriage. I think it’s a great institution, and I think it should be available to people who are gay as well as those of us who aren’t.”

Throughout the passage of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, which received royal assent in July, support from the Tory party has always been ambiguous, despite a strong backing from its leader David Cameron.

In the Commons, for instance, no fewer than 136 Tories opposed the act, outweighing the 127 members who voted in its favour.

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